But wait, Cedar Crest could still clinch the section if McCaskey could upset Warwick, and, well, that's exactly what happened. The Red Tornado won 5-3, leaving the Falcons thrilled to end their Section 1 title drought while still a little dazed that it came about on a day when they played so poorly.

Oh well, whatever.

"I tell you what, that's by far the best loss I've ever had," senior pitcher Chad Ryland said with a smile. "As a team, since we've haven't won this or competed at this level since 2012, I think we all knew our time was gonna come. It's overwhelming to know we're here. Everyone's so happy now. It's just huge."

Despite the 8-0 loss on Monday, the Falcons are still most deserving section champs, having followed the disheartening, disappointing seasons of the recent past with a record that now stands at 14-4 overall and 11-4 in Section 1. Lancaster-Lebanon League and District 3 playoff bid have also been secured.

"It's kinda weird," Cedar Crest coach Josh Brown said. "We won six in a row before, but we laid an egg today. It's gonna happen, but at the same time you don't want it to happen. But the kids have been playing great baseball all year, and there's no reason to think we're gonna come out and lay an egg the rest of the season.

"Three years ago, we started five freshman and these five are now on the field. It means a lot. They took over great leadership roles and led the team on and off the field. It's been great."

Monday's performance wasn't so great, though. The Falcons used four pitchers after starter Danny Mancill was knocked out in the second inning and they managed only two hits against Township lefty Nick Kurtz, who went all the way.

But by the time word started to get around that McCaskey had provided a helping hand the mood lightened. Ryland and catcher Kyle Poorman were the first to overhear the news, but kept it from their teammates so that they could find out via a postgame announcement from the press box.

Needless to say, the announcement was well-received.

"I heard it in the dugout, Coach (assistant Matt) Knox got called out of the dugout and I overheard it," Ryland said. "Then Kyle Poorman came in and sorta whispered it to me and to not let anyone else know until the end. It was great when they announced it over the loudspeaker like that."

And it meant even more because of where they'd been in the empty years before.

"I think we only won four games my sophomore year. It was the same walk to the locker room, everyone with heads down," Ryland said. "And now this different feeling is starting to rise back up. Winning's fun, right?"

Indeed it is, and the Falcons would like to do a lot more of it before they pack away the gear this season.

Games with Warwick and Lebanon on Tuesday close out the regular season, then comes the opening round of the L-L playoffs on Saturday against Section 3 runner-up Cocalico. Game time has yet to be announced.

"This changes the aura, changes the mentality," Brown said of winning the section. "We'll be fine. We've been fine all year. And we've got quite a bit of arms. I'm saving Chad and Logan (Horn) and Danny will be ready for Saturday again."